Thank goodness our government is saving us from the dangerous things...like cupcakes.

Allow me to say, unless a terrorist is enjoying said cupcake before setting off an explosive device; the government might want to concentrate on something else. Otherwise, every bake sale is going to require overtime and the SWAT vehicles just to haul in all the "criminals."

The Rambling wife and I often say if I did not watch live sports, we'd just pay $8 a month for Netflix and Hulu. That said, I hope we wouldn't ever be this ignorant wondering how to watch the Super Bowl.

Look, I'm as antisocial as they come, and even I could stand to go to a party one night a year. Not to mention, you can get your local channels through your cable/broadband company for $10 a month.

The days of dynasties in football are over, in large part due to the fact football scholarships are so limited (it wasn't that many years ago when Nebraska would have reserve offensive linemen taken in the NFL draft (Penn State had backup linebackers chosen as well). With only 13 scholarships, and an aggressive transfer climate; not to mention the three point shot making athleticism less important; we're seeing an awful lot of "middling" teams; the basketball landscape seems to as well.

Badgers averaged 0.63 points per possession when they took a three, and 0.53 ppp when they attempted a two.

This is oversimplifying it, of course, as they are far more likely to get fouled and make it to the FT line if they work the ball inside or drive. However, the problem is not that they took too many 3's, it's that they did not make enough of them.

In the modern day game, 3's are far more valuable, based on the percentages. It's just math.

Deepest Big Ten I've ever witnessed. Penn State and Northwestern both win on the road tonight. Badgers simply could not buy an open 3. The Wildcats are going to get blown out often, because they just pack it in and hope their opponents miss from outside, but when it works, it works.

That number is almost certainly a lie, because his lips were moving when he said it.

Of course, considering we heard many claims of 30M uninsured and about 5M lost their insurance due to the nanny state "they know better" restrictions Obamacare brought with it, that may be one of the least impressive bragging in history.

EDIT--'More than 9 million Americans have signed up for private health
insurance or Medicaid coverage,” he said. That is stretching the numbers
to the breaking point: It includes people who have selected policies
but not paid, people who have signed up and are trying to disenroll
after seeing the high premiums, and people who have been enrolled in
Medicaid but not for the first time and not because of Obamacare.--National Review

They don't even pretend to tell the truth. Lying has become habit.That's because the truth sucks.

I see on Twitter that Obama has bypassed the Constitution and magically made $10 an hour the minimum wage for government workers.

First of all, it's as unconstitutional as you can get. Secondly, Obama is the king of doing things that make no difference. How many overpaid government workers are making less than $10/hour? Very few. That said, those that do are completely unskilled and are probably not worth what they are making, never mind a raise.

That $30T debt in January, 2017 prediction I made is looking more accurate every day.

This is why elections are important. Let's hope November makes a difference, as otherwise, that number might be low.

It's been aided by the fact people that are very comfortable and middle class have been convinced that "they're trying to eliminate the middle class," even though most everyone I know as an adult is solidly middle class.

The governor forced to step in, as the union insists on defending this loon who should have been fired on the spot years ago, and should not be in a country mile of a classroom.

Remember, unions don't defend the best teachers, or even those who are above average, as they do not need defending. They only defend the vastly below average. Having this embarrassment in the classroom is exactly the stupidity Act 10 got rid of. It's also a PR nightmare that only the shortsighted selfishness of a union could create.

The Brewers have picked up several versatile AAA pieces since the end of last season. Seems odd, as it must be some kind of pattern. I count no fewer than five guys ticketed for Nashville who have played both infield and outfield.

Dale Schultz, the state senator who pretends to be a Republican, but is in bed with the unions, will not run for reelection.

Politicians quit for two reasons:

1. They are afraid of losing.

2. They want to go into business for themselves.

Dave Obey was in office forever, and quit when he had a handsome young challenger named Sean Duffy announce he was running against him. Duffy has now won twice, despite being targeted by the DNC ebcause his seat has been in lefty hands for thirty years.

C. This is why the corners of the ballpark/arena are always the last to sell, despite being less expensive. To most fans, $20 is not much of a deterrent. It's also why sports like the WNBA and NWSL price their cheapest seats at $10-12, when people like me think they would be far better off selling 15K $5 tickets than 6K $12 tickets...odds are, if you're not willing to spend $12, you also would not pay $5.

D. It's also why movie attendance is steady even though prices have risen steadily.

--end of edit

While this goes against the supply and demand theory, I saw many people (apparently, even more anti social than myself) say they weren't going to go, because:

1. It would be too crowded.

2. They'd have to mix with masses of commoners.

Looks like they missed a good time, as they sat grumpily at home, bemoaning the fact the Brewers refused to take their $20, and that their soup was hot, but their ice cream was cold.

No magic beans, prudent financial leadership. Instead of taking money from the rubes and trying to spread the wealth with questionable economic theory from the 60's, they're...giving it back to the people that earned it.

Most neutral folks had the Brewers as 75-79 win team before the Garza signing. Considering they won 74 last season, and were getting Braun back for the entire season, that seems about right. However, if one looks at other factors; they could easily be more optimistic:

1. The Crew had a horrible May last season, for reasons that are unknown, or unlikely to carry over. They were 6-22 in May, and 68-66 in the other five months. Going forward, you could choose to look at them as a 74 win team, or a 82-83 win club.

2. Based on runs allowed and scored, they "should have" won 76 games. Future wins and losses tend to be closer to "expected" than actual.

3. The pitching overall was very good from June onward, comparable to the NL playoff teams.

4. The offense had two big holes, 1B and missing Braun. That could easily be looked at as a several game improvement, though once could argue 1B will still be below average.

5. They were 36-32 in the 2nd half, which was right on based on runs scored and allowed.

6. Free agents lost are very minimal...Hart did not play, and Gonzalez struggled in the 2nd half (though was very solid early in the '13 campaign, as the team struggled). Adding Garza should have the Crew as a team solidly better.

7. We all know Doug is well known for adding free agents late. I expect a reliever or two (note KRod is still available, as are several solid, unspectacular middle relief guys with closing experience; Ayala, Marmol, Lyon, Francisco, Farnsworth) to be added. I thought Capuano might well be a late add, but that ship has probably sailed, as FA's will be looking for a team with less SP depth.

8. Speaking of SP depth...Lohse, Gallardo, Garza, Estrada, Peralta, Thornburg, Nelson, Hellweg, Smith, and do not forget about "sleepers" such as Burgos (who was great in winterball), Fiers (almost a forgotten man), and Pena (solid in AA, and in his final option year, if memory serves)...that's an even dozen of actual SP possibilities. Don't forget, most teams use 8-10 SP's.

9. No one is talking about it, but Ramirez played much of '13 banged up, and missed 70 games. He's not going to play 160, but he played in 149 in 3 of the 5 years prior to that, and 123 or more every year except one since 2001. If he's healthy and plays 140 games, that might be as much of a plus as Braun's return.

At the very least, they do have upside. I would probably project them closer to 85 wins than 90, but with the extra playoff spot, 88 is the magic number, in my view.

ADDED: I did not mention former #1 pick Taylor Jungmann, who is not on the 40, but pitched OK in AA last season and while his K numbers are low, may well have been "held back" a bit working on his secondary pitches, which may have had an impact on his '13 stats.

The Rambling wife and I were just wondering if WI will adjust how many days of school is required, as our district is now one over their built in amount. It certainly is not safe for kids to be walking to school in -15 temps and 15 mph winds...I recall kids I went to school with would walk to the closest school to them and take a "shuttle bus" to whatever school they were going to. Many walked a mile or two their whole career.

Monday and Tuesday are looking pretty close to cold enough for no school...highs in the -6 to -10 range, with 15-20 mph winds...far too dangerous.

Schools should assign some TED talks on You Tube or Netflix and write reports on what they were about.

And yes, Al Gore has been mighty quiet about the ice melting and the like. Of course, you'd be quiet too if you were a lying fraud caught cheating on your wife. I mean seriously, who did he think he was...Bill Clinton?

Purdue was quite a step down from the other three teams, at least they were today. The irony is, no one ever mentions the fact that the Boilers simply missed a lot of open 3's. It's a lot easier to win that way.

There are two things that fans always think:

1. Teams should always go for it on 4th down...except when they get stopped, and then, it was a terrible play call.

2. Coaches should quit sitting guys when they get two fouls on them in the first half...unless they pick up their 3rd, and then, it was a terrible decision.

{The irony to me is, fans somehow think a guy who has picked up two quick fouls has the discipline to not pick up a third.}

There's nothing to report, I can't really comment on it. We're just waiting.--Doug Melvin to JS
The JS mentions some have speculated the Brewers will announce the signing at their fan event tomorrow. I suppose anything is possible, but unless Matt is looking for a place to live, it seems unlikely he took his physical Thursday and is still in town.

Since I got that email last night with the rumor of a message board poster saying they found a partial tear on Garza's MRI, I realized I had not visited them of late, as 98% of the posts are borderline lunacy. So, I gave them a shot.

The horror.

One person gave his 25 man roster, and did not include a backup SS. When that was mentioned, he stated "there's no use carrying one for a few innings here and there, if Segura gets hurt, they'll just call someone up."

I only got through about 2/3rd's of Walker's book before I returned it to the library today (about 40 people have it on hold, as I did), but a few truths remain...

1. The old media "forgot" to report most of the terrible behavior by the union. I never heard of 90% of it, and I looked, reporting it much of it here.

2. Every single thing he said would happen...has. He knew the union would sell out newly hired folks, as they always do. They love mediocrity, they love protecting veterans who are overpaid, and they love taking advantage of loopholes that allow for abuses of overtime.

3. I loved the lies, fibs, and pathetic behavior of when the senators ran off to IL, to try and pout their way to taxing and spending.

4. The best part...the Dems offered to give in on every single item, except for one...automatic deduction of union dues. It was all about the money, as I said daily at the time. Now that almost half the teachers have stopped paying those dues, the union is a fraction as powerful.

5. Finally, Walker mentions several times how the bad behavior of the unions helped immensely...people were fed up with the vandalism, the fake calling in sick, and so on. That led them to actually look at what was being done...and suddenly, the polls reversed. All it took was the public looking at the two sides and seeing how good the union had it. Before now, I was the only person who repeatedly was saying that. Turns out, the governor and his staff knew it, and counted on it.

Soon, the national media will notice, and probably find something (or at least pretend to), as they have with Christie. There is no sign of respect like the old media picking on you...it means they're scared.

Email said a message board he saw said someone who has had "inside" info in the past said he heard the MRI on Garza showed a partial tear, but Matt insisted it has never bothered him, and he has probably been pitching with it for years.

We may never know what the reason is for the delay. At this point, not even sure what to hope for. I was a big Garza fan for his entire career, but I'm sure not a fan of paying close to market for damaged goods. Every player is an injury risk, and pitchers even moreso. However, those with preexisting conditions are especially so, as that's why they usually sign at a deep discount.

The JS reports Garza and Crew still talking. Hard to believe the difference never came up until this late in the process, as the money is low enough that some other team must be able to offer it...it seems very likely that Garza wanted to sign in MIL, all things being equal.

In addition to the Rambling son's favorite meal being my homemade mac and cheese; I had another proud moment

Today, he had a "home study day" since it's the end of the semester at his charter school. He dutifully went online for his five hours, and said he's be up about 1 for lunch. I asked what he wanted, and he didn't know. I offered him a "grilled cheeseburger," which is one of my creations...it's just a grilled cheese sandwich that, when completed, I put a hamburger patty in.

The Rambling son was told to be sure and shovel the driveway good today, so I can throw ice melt on it, since it's warmer. Like most 11 year olds, he put it off. A few minutes ago, he got a call from a neighbor kid, asking him to come down and play. He trots upstairs, and asks if he can go. I inform him he can as soon as he's done shoveling.

A couple minutes later, his buddy comes down on his ATV with a plow on the front, and asks if he can plow the driveway.

I'd liken him to Tom Sawyer, but I think the descendants of Mr. Clemens might ask for a royalty.

Gmail and Google, which runs Blogger, have been struggling all day. This post is a culmination of about 45 minutes of trying.

Quick note on Garza, supposedly, the holdup is how the money is to be distributed...Matt wants it to be about $13M per season, while the Crew wants it to be backloaded, as many of their deals are, because the present value is lower, and if traded, the other team pays more of the salary.

And normally, I'm pro cheerleader, but to be blunt, if she doesn't like it, she should just quit.

I admit, I never imagined he'd be as bad as Carter. I also never dreamed he'd ignore the Constitution and push a painfully socialist agenda.

I'm also offended at how much money he and Michelle piss away on travel and dinners with celebs. Say what you will, but the first lady spending an extra week in Hawaii on "vacation," when the know nothing doesn't have a job...please.

No official word yet on Garza, but not due to something that showed up on the physical, so I assume it will get done. Often, teams and players will agree to a "limited no trade clause," and the player thinks that means they can name a dozen teams they cannot be dealt to, and the team thinks more along the lines of a half dozen. Might take a while to work out a compromise.

On my local news tonight, both Mandy Wright (my legislator) and Tammy Baldwin said they did not like what they heard last night, and WI should fix its budget surplus by...spending more money on things that were cut.

In other words, spend more, and don't even think of cutting taxes. This is why they had a $4B deficit the mature, adult party had to take care of.

Fiscally irresponsible clowns. Quick, what spending cuts have we suffered in the past few years? Let's start a list.

1. Eliminated platinum benefits to public labor unions at no cost with Act 10. They now have platinum benefits at minimal cost.

Garza's numbers are here...still pretty young, and has been durable, though he has had four trips to the DL, the prince of darkness reports. Pitchers do get hurt, that's part of the game.

I have always liked him because he throws hard and throws strikes. As is the case with most quality SP's, very little difference in splits. With Yo entering his last season (he has an option left), it also fills the staff, and allows for depth...Thornburg suddenly becomes one of the best 6th SP's in the game.

I was just thinking today, that I bet Doug will be signing a reliever soon, as the market will start sorting itself out. While 4y/$52M is a ton of cash, I'd rather they spend it than Mark A hang onto it, and to be blunt, compared to 7y/$200M+ some guy got that's never thrown a pitch in the majors, it's a brand new leather jacket for $10 at Goodwill type of bargain.

I tend to dismiss such claims as self important, look at me and how much we've accomplished bravado. That said, note what he is doing...vaccines (yes, that's right, those evil vaccines), child heath initiatives, and clean water. For the most part, these are also very inexpensive.

Note that Gates is talking about poverty the way it is defined, not random folks not being able to pay the bills, as he points out, those will always exist (the left just suffered a crushing blow to their socialist egos).

That may be as big as almost any starting lineup ever. 6-3 and four guys who are 6-10 and 6-11.

I've been meaning to take a look at the Bucks' numbers, but have not got around to it. I thought they would be about a .500 team, and I loved the fact they had 6-7 true 3 point threats. They have been hurt by injuries, but have been pretty much healthy for a month and have barely won a game. They are weak in most every aspect, but are a terrible rebounding club and turn the ball over an astounding amount. Those two attributes alone give their opponent far more possessions than themselves, which makes it tough to win.

If nothing else, they have made Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis look pretty darn good, as they all but singlehandedly (or would it be doublehandedly?) led a similar team to 37 wins last season. One has to wonder how much influence Mike Dunleavy had last year as well, as that team seemed far more willing to work toward a common goal.

The good news? They do have several good young players, and several good veteran (Ridnour and Udoh being the most obvious, but almost anyone on the team except Giannis and probably Henson) trade chips, and without a single unmovable contract...their toughest to move deal is almost certainly Larry Sanders, and that's more due to off the court issues, as half the teams in the league would see him as an upgrade at the 4 or 5. And, the conference is so weak, they can easily get back into playoff contention as early as next season (word is, Mr. Kohl just gave up on a playoff run this year in the last few days, as they are "only" 9 games back with 40 to play). They also have expiring contracts that will either help or have a lot of value in the next month before the trading deadline.

I think the Bucks would talk about anyone on their roster, but I'm not sure about this author's piece because very rarely do teams in the NBA pick up salary, they just take back a terrible contract in return.

I hated school because it skimmed over the fact that capitalism built the USA, and that wealthy, successful businessmen like Andrew Carnegie did far more to help the poor than the government (those pesky facts). Carnegie, all by himself, donated the funds to build 2500 libraries, and many universities, telescopes, and even church organs. Carnegie gave away about $5B in today's dollars to philanthropic causes, and was a staunch advocate for educating yourself, building a business, and then giving away your riches before death.

So, how is Carnegie remembered in history books? As a "robber baron" who "used" the lower classes to amass his wealth. By giving them jobs, of course. How evil!

I'm not saying most teachers and professors are socialist, of course. They're just sympathetic to socialist views. Because they believe they should be paid far more than the market dictates. When you don't believe in supply and demand, you should not be teaching economics.

Funny, I said this same thing during the MLS Cup. As it relates to soccer, lots of times the kicker misses the net on their own when they go left or right, but rarely when they go down the middle.

Also, I'd never seen the term "idleness aversion" before, as I've always called it "gotta be doing something disease." Every weak manager I ever worked for would always waste a lot of time doing stuff far beneath their position (putting merch on the floor and trivial cleaning being the most popular) because "doing something" was easier than seeing we were 75 resets behind, or that the storeroom was a disaster. By being busy, they could proudly say they were taking care of something else, and would tackle the big problem later. In reality, they were delaying the inevitable, or putting off the pain.

About 90% of running a successful store is merch flow and customer service. In fact, you can be relatively successful for a year or two just doing one or the other.

I see on Twitter that Brian Anderson is calling an NBA game tonight on TNT. That reminded me that, BA was only signed through 2013...at least, that we knew about. So, I just googled it...every source still has him signing a five year extension through 2013...does anyone know his status? I assume we would know by now if he had decided to go elsewhere.

When you lack quality, you attack the problem with quantity. At best, Lyle is a platoon guy who could be used as a defensive replacement. Barring injury, I see no way he could make the final roster. Of course, there's no risk, so depth in case of injury is a fine thing.

Wisconsin is about to experience its third tax cut in a year. All of
these tax cuts were openly opposed by Democrats as kick-backs to the
rich and attempts to starve government. But then the revenue keeps
flowing in - and Democrats struggle to respond.

Read the whole thing, which shows how conservative principles, strong leadership, and letting people keep more of their own money works.
And how it makes the left furious.

Same for the ones who refuse to nap. Both groups, in my experience, tend to be bitchy and grumpy, probably because they're wandering around tired all the time. Also, anyone who tells you how damn great they do things shouldn't be such a negative nellie. It's like me telling someone else why they're overweight.

"Because that's the way black people say it" is a mighty poor excuse. Allow me to repeat what Charles Barkley said years ago when asked about the then popular "Ebonics," which basically is a combo of ebony and phonics, a word created to mean "black people English."

Try walking into IBM and getting a job talking Ebonics.

Sadly, I hear white people talking like this more and more, but they are uneducated and almost always in a tough circumstance. One of my favorite investment consultants, Charles Payne, talks just like I do. He happens to be black, and is a self made man, after growing up in the projects of Harlem. Would he be successful if he spoke Ebonics? I'd say the answer to that is either "No" or "Not as successful."

Hopefully, this will fade out as time goes by. It is a bothersome bad habit, and it only divides and limits.

Lots of discussion of late about the Badgers' defense, or supposed lack thereof, as they lost to the Hoosiers and Wolverines.

While I wish it were that easy, yesterday, they just ran into a hot shooting team. They had two fewer turnovers and five more offensive rebounds, meaning they had seven more possessions...but when your opponent shoots 7/13 from 3, that's a lot to overcome.

One more note most seem to have forgotten, they play a three guard lineup almost all the time. The "4" is Sam Dekker, who, at best, is an average defender. Add that up, and they do lack size, and are likely to struggle against teams that have good inside scorers. As they fade inside, that leaves open the 3 point line, which is even more of a weapon, in my opinion.

I don't think the Badgers will win the conference, but I didn't two games ago either. I think 4-5 losses will win the title, so I'm expecting 6-7 losses. I'd sure like to see them put it together late, but every year in the tournament, they seem to get taken out by a team's hot shooting from 3. There's not a lot you can do about that either.

I was talking to the Rambling son about it one day on the way home from school, and he just said, "They take a few years of weather out of forever, and think it means something."

Its like a guy going 3-4 with a walk and insisting he's better than Ty Cobb. It's a tiny sample, and not only have they been caught over and over faking the data, they use partial data...they only use the warmest and coldest days of the month as their baseline, that's how they can factually report that a year was the coldest...and the warmest. The irony is, they do this without a hint of irony, and the old media doesn't bother reporting it.

Anyone wondering why hockey will never be a major sport (and will soon be replaced in the "big 4" by soccer in the US), take a gander at the Vancouver/Calgary game tonight, four fights two seconds into the game, seven ejections.

First of all, Chisenhall is strictly a platoon guy; though as a LH hitter, he is the strong part of a platoon, so he still has a boatload of value. He has never hit southpaws, and is unlikely to learn this skill against the best in the world. That gives Wil a slight lead in my eye.

Middlebrooks has not been helped by Fenway Park, as his home/road splits are almost identical.

Neither one walks enough, only about 5% of the time.

Both are below average defensively, though the two stats disagree on who is better.

I would take Middlebrooks if I had to choose, because I like his numbers a tad more, and I think he might "take off" once he leaves the scrutiny and magnifying glass of Boston.

I must admit, I find it funny the Vikings are building a $1B football palace, which will probably host the Super Bowl and the NCAA Championship game (and quite likely, a Final Four) within its first half decade, while Lambeau Field is still metal bleachers.

The Rambling dog continues to struggle health wise. He's been so good, for the most part, for 3-4 months, but has slipped of late.

I look up his symptoms and know what it is before it pops up. It's the same thing that happens to all of us...at some point, something just breaks down. It's sad, and a shame, but I can't stop the inevitable.

Shawn sends in this link, and reminds us, it could have been WI, if Governor Walker would not have done the math. Note even CA lefties are now against it, and they are almost bankrupt and the kings of tax and spend.

Despite Adam's statement that he is being brought in to be the everyday 1B, Reynolds is a proven lefty smasher, so he might well end up in some sort of "soft" platoon with Francisco, who, if you'll remember, is quite streaky. Also, in a lesser utilized split, Reynolds can't hit power pitchers at all for the most part, but loves finesse guys...Juan sure appeared to be dead red last season, though his career numbers also show him to hit finesse arms better (or possibly, fastballs that lack velocity).

Zach Duke signed to minor league deal, Adam confirms he will be looked at as a reliever. I recall in the past Duke had very good lefty splits, so he will likely be used as a loogy, even if Will Smith is in the bullpen..

Tough day in the Ramblings household, horrible weather, and one of the Rambling son's friends' dad passed away. We found out this morning, and I took one look outside at the blowing snow, paired with that kind of news, I canceled both my appointments. Tough to talk about death and loss after experiencing it up close. I've lost a lot of clients over the years, but I work with seniors for the most part. Big difference between 75-85 and 49.

Went to go pick up the Rambling son, backed out of driveway, got stuck where the plow had pushed the snow. Luckily, one of the Rambling neighbors arrived home from work and took pity on me. He almost lifted the front end over the snow pile to free me. I then almost got stuck turning into the school driveway, luckily making it back out and parking on the street, making the Rambling son wander a block or so to get in, as I'm not getting out in that crap. I left the car on the street when we got home, which had been plowed again, leaving us about a five foot pile at the end of our drive.

I told the Rambling son we'd give it a go, but with your face to the wind, you could barely breathe, so we gave up after about ninety seconds and called another Rambling neighbor, whose son who is the same age as ours came down with their snowmobile and plowed our driveway in about 3.5 minutes. Life before the internal combustion engine must have sucked.

I'll see if I can get the Rambling wife to take a pic of our deck, which has drifts 4-5 feet high...it was empty yesterday.

Let's not forget, Obama was going to close down Gitmo back in 2009. Because he never, for one second, considered that countries would call him up and tell him he better not even think of releasing them within their borders. Shocking.

W won Iraq, and Obama, in his usual "leadership is beneath me" way, didn't care enough to listen to the generals he appointed to keep any forces there.

Of course, the irony is, while he has never pretended to concern himself with foreign policy (remember his about face on Syria...I doubt if he could spell it if you gave him two tries), his domestic results have been the worst of anyone not named Carter.

It's almost like he has spent entire presidency doing bad things which led to a variety of scandals, which, in turn, took up the remainder of his time.

Liberal media is Out For Blood with Chris Christie. Guess there real is nothing more threatening than a popular republican.--Meghan McCain

The ones they go after the hardest are the ones they know are dangerous. That's why they've went after Palin the way they have, she is the everywoman, and she's attractive. The attacks were mild on McCain and Romney in comparison, because they were, while good men, flawed candidates.

It is not a coincidence we've heard more about a bridge/traffic issue in the past week than we have about the IRS scandal and Benghazi combined in the last...what, six months?

Many hipsters will be furious there isn't some up and coming group most of us have never heard of. Not that they would fill a 23K seat venue with $75+ ticket prices, but, hipsters ain't very economically knowledgeable.

My skepticism is off the charts...seems like this is some older fellas trying to get some free media. Considering how intoxicated each victim was, and how spread out they were, I very much doubt this is anything but tragic.

Not a single school in this area was closed or delayed today...roads are terrible, and several inches of snow are on the way. I have to wonder if they are hesitant to do so since they had a pair of cold days last week.

I read a magazine article about a guy once who was a pudgy guy in his 50's. All he did was private detective stuff, locate them, and call the cops to make an arrest. As part of my job, every once in a while I am asked to try and get in touch with folks to upgrade the benefits they are eligible for. It's fun for about twenty minutes, and after that, it's just me wasting time. Hats off to those who can do it.

Last night, our cable was a bit "jumpy," and not feeling it was worth a phone call, I tried ton report the problem online. After typing in my phone number, it asked me what the picture was doing by choosing a cartoon example...when I did, it suggested I make sure the connections were all tight. I never did figure out how to get to a live person in chat, as no matter what I chose, it took me to a FAQ type site.

A couple summers ago, our internet would go out often during the day, only to return in the late afternoon. One of the techs finally admitted to me the metal structure on our lawn which houses all the cable wiring for our cul de sac got "too hot" on warm days and basically overheated itself, shutting down to cool, and then popping back on a few hours later.

We have had very few issues with them other than that, but that was enough to shake our confidence...that said, every time we had cable out for a few hours and called, we'd get a week or two credit on our bill, so we almost got the summer free.

Back on my low carb plan, took about a month off. I saw on FB yesterday a guy all excited he'd lost 16 pounds, I assume since the first of the year. I'm down 19 in a week. That means two things, one, it's almost all water weight, and two, I must be really fat to be able to do that.

There has always been poverty, and there will always be poverty, because there will always be people of below average intelligence, work ethic, health, and luck.

If you think you can tax the wealthy until the streets are paved in gold and we're all sleeping 'til noon on silk, 500 thread count sheets, read the links in the post I linked to...you might just learn something about economics and figure why the president's economy is hellish even though he keeps spending oodles of cash.

Haven't been to find a sugar free, or low carb BBQ sauce, so I made my own today.

The best part was, I used Sodastream syrup for 64 ounces and only added 16 ounces of water, so I was able to skip that whole reduction step. Put it on chicken wings, baked 5 minutes, and took 'em out and dipped the wings in again, and baked another 5. Delish.

Just tried it again as it's cooled all afternoon, and it's far less root beery and more like normal BBQ now.

Inequality is a false notion propagated by those who are made to feel
guilty for what they have by those who are jealous for what they don't.--Kennedy

Well said. People are not going to end up magically equal, because people do not have equal intelligence, give equal amount of effort, and so on.
The idea government can somehow fix that by "spreading the wealth" and balancing the scale has been proven wrong throughout history.

After the Rambling son shoveled our couple inches of snow, I went out and threw some salt on it. I emptied a bag, and decided to open up another bag for next time, and to have a place to store the Cool Whip bowl I was using.

I pushed in on the bag near the top, above where the salt was, and that bag was all but impossible to puncture with my thumbnail, stretching and becoming almost transparent, but not breaking. I looked around for something sharp, but found nothing. Finally, I went at it again, and after a 15-20 second struggle, it gave way, about the size of a dime. I kept tearing, but still not big enough to put the bowl in. I pushed in another section, hoping to bridge the two holes...and I felt something give, just as immense pain hit my right thumb.

As I stood holding my thumb in agony, I wondered how I would explain to people I broke my thumb pushing on a plastic bag. Luckily, I guess I had just bent back my thumbnail and somehow the thumb moving up a fraction of an inch caused the pain, as after about 30 seconds, I could bend and wiggle my thumb, and no swelling has occurred. Funny, the pain was in the middle of the thumb; the knuckle, but now it's at the base.

That said, it's still very sore...do you have any idea how much you use your dominant thumb? Had a terrible time trying to put the bottle on the Sodastreamer...it turns and the lip attaches to the machine...try pretending to turn a bottle...all thumb, isn't it?

Penn State is back in business. If they have a year trimmed from their bowl penalty...because they've taken their punishment silently and not complained about it...as many expect, they'll be eligible for postseason and the Big Ten title game in 2015.

I have a survival blog bookmarked that I usually only skim once or twice a week, as it provides a variety of links and facts I would not see otherwise.

As I have said before, I do not believe collapse is imminent in the USA, nor in the next decade or two. That said, most people are not nearly as prepared as they should be for simple stuff like cold and snowy weather, nor do they carry stuff in their car (last week, even the Rambling wife had the Rambling son take her snowpants and other cold weather gear out to her vehicle in case she got stranded somewhere in -20 degree cold, which I would say is more prep work than 95% of the public did) in case they get stranded or stuck in a ditch somewhere.

I often mention to clients that they should never let their gas tank get below 1/4th full in the winter (if you have a long commute and a tiny tank (11 gallons) like mine, 1/2 should be treated as your E...not the end of the world if you let it get below, but fill up that day), or you should have a few gallons of water in the house (or bleach to treat water) if you are snowed in for a few days. The responses I get, without fail, are "I never thought of that," or "Really? My son lives down the road, he'd bring me whatever I needed."

Anyhoodles, today I ran across a piece on plants and weeds that was an informative as any science class (I wish we would have had a unit on stuff like this instead of going over the periodic table annually, something I've never used) I ever had. You can read the whole thing above, but allow me to reprint what was said about dandelions:

Dandelion is another common yard weed that grows almost everywhere,
including city lots and in the mountains. I never dig up the dandelions
in my yard but use them and also feed them to our rabbits. We do not
treat our yard with chemicals. It is highly nutritious, and all parts
are edible- including the roots which can be dried and used as a coffee
substitute. It has been used as a diuretic and to cleanse the blood of
toxins. The milk that comes when you cut the plant can be used on wounds
and is highly effective to use on warts. I have used the milk on three
of my children's warts and all three times it made them disappear
naturally without pain or scarring. It must be applied every day for a
good month to the warts. A tea made from all parts of the dandelion is
absurdly rich in nutrients and would be well utilized by those suffering
from malnutrition.

This, my friends, is the same plant that is a beautiful bright yellow, plentiful everywhere, and spreads itself naturally...that we as a society damn near kill ourselves to get rid of every spring...because we know better.

We have tall grass and weeds behind our backyard, so every year, we get a few thistles in the back third of our lawn. The Rambling wife will wander out there barefoot, step on one, and she'll go borrow a garden tool from a neighbor which removes it and pulls out the roots. Without fail, they will ask her if she's pulling out a dandelion, and she'll reply, "No, a thistle; we don't care about dandelions," and she'll receive a look that is similar to what she witnessed when she used to say, "I've decided to date Al," a puzzled, quizzical "you poor, stupid child, I sure feel sorry for you" glance.

Because you know, they know better.

ADDED: As a precaution, I have read many times that is you live in an urban area and want to collect dandelions, don't use the ones in your lawn, as they might have chemical residue from your neighbors. Drive out of town or to a state/county park.

While it is somewhat interesting to see a guy open a bottle of wine with a shoe, one has to think anyone using this as a practical application has a problem in which they should probably seek counseling.

Badgers' basketball off this weekend, and several are tweeting out pics and news that they are back home. Not sure if Bo gave them the weekend off (they play Tuesday at Indiana, so they'll travel Monday), but I assume since they are not in school, they probably practiced early today and if they are practicing on Sunday, it will probably be in the evening (the guys will want to watch football anyway, I'm sure).

I should explain myself a bit...if Christie actually did something wrong, he should be...well, I don't know, slapped on the wrist, I guess.

At the end of the day, I feel the same way about this as I did the military dudes peeing on those bastard terrorists...I can't say it really bothers me a bit, as I'm glad to have those guys, and Christie, on my side. However, if that was somehow...against the rules...

...killing the enemy if OK...peeing on them is not...does everyone understand? OK, back to killing people before they kill you...ready....begin!

...they should have suffered the consequences. I think it's rather obvious the left is overreacting so as to get the scandal of the day/complete and utter failure of Obamacare off the news.

As I hinted at before, it's very difficult to be concerned about a traffic delay in a city that often has a 3-4 hour backup every Sunday evening in the summer as the city dwellers return from their summer cottages in or near the Hamptons. But if I must...

Lesson for Chris Christie: next time, just shut down the National World War II Memorial.--David Burge

Michelle Obama appalled at the abuse of power in NJ as she stays in Hawaii waiting for her separate jet to fly her back to DC.--Hale Razor

Heh. Game, set, match.

By the way, while I cannot say I really know what happened on a Jersey bridge, I do know I'll concern myself about it when we find out where Obama and Clinton were while the embassy that had requested more security was attacked, four American civilians were killed; while someone told special forces to "stand down."

Answer me some important questions, and I'll investigate the trivial matter of...traffic delays near Manhattan.

Because, to be blunt, they know better than you and I do. About everything.

By the way, my wife has made every decision we've had since about two months after we started dating. As I say often, numerous times, I have been outvoted 1-1. That said, Candace Cameron Bure is a very nice woman. If you find it necessary to hate her, you're probably not on my side.

That's fine, I'd feel bad about myself if I agreed with such meanies. Just like I did not agree with those who vandalized the capitol, those who called in sick and faked doctor's notes, or poured beer on lawmakers. Because I'm better than that.

Very few things I enjoy more than an expansion draft. The NWSL, the women's pro soccer league that started last year, is having one tomorrow, as a team in Houston is added. I don't know any of the players, unless they're really good and really attractive, but I've read tons of stuff on it in the past couple days, and am just fascinated. Worth mentioning:

---HOU was allocated three players from the USA/Canada/Mexico national teams, and immediately traded one of those players for the Canadian #1 goalkeeper. Because of this, most of the other teams did not bother protecting a goalkeeper. It seems they could have waited to make that deal a few days and had several more players to choose from. Also, the player they traded away was not protected either...many seem to think they have some sort of "handshake agreement" not to take that player back, but in theory, they could.

---That's just one of many mentions of "politics" in the draft...there are at least three sets of "couples" in which one is protected and one is not. Does HOU want to take one player and split up a pair now happily playing on the same team? Would they then be able to trade for the other half of the couple? What if one player doesn't want to play in HOU?

---By far the most popular/successful team in the league was Portland, who averaged 14K fans, twice as many as anyone else. Their most popular player is Alex Morgan, a young American who plays on the US national team, and is known as much for her physique as her goal scoring. She's on the protected list, but several other players you would expect Portland to protect are not. Morgan's fiancee plays with the HOU MLS team, and yesterday, the owner of Portland already apologized to fans saying they knew they were going to lose one of their most popular players. Is Morgan heading to HOU in some sort of trade, and they will be allowed to keep other young, marketable players?

Who knew there was so much behind the scenes action and going ons in women's soccer?

Whenever I see an article like this, I am reminded that not only is the NY Times further left than Lenin, but full of themselves and pompous to an incredible degree.

Don't forget, the budget wine nicknamed Two Buck Chuck wins competitions and tastings, and would be treated with more disdain by the Times than a politician that showed up on time, balanced his budget, and, gasp, showed the ability to be competent at his job.

That's going to be a tough thing to overcome in November. Obama looked into a camera for four plus years and insisted you could keep your plan, even though he knew it would be gone (as did I, and said so often).

The same rubes fell for the healthcare "facts," which have all turned out to be lies as well. When the facts are what they are, they simply don't tell the truth. It's why Clinton lied about Monica, and why Carter has the nerve to question anyone on anything. They fib, and they do it often.

These are the good old days. Some folks are just too busy wishing the streets were paved with gold to enjoy the good times.

Whatever strikes me as
interesting, and serious Milwaukee Brewers thoughts. If you are a believer
in respecting OBP, throwing strikes, and keeping the ball in the park,
you may have found the place you've been searching for. I believe in low taxes, small government, and am not afraid to be labeled patriotic. If you are interested in sausage race results, walk up music, or professional wrestling, you may wish to click elsewhere.

I'm happy to pay taxes to help the helpless. I don't like paying taxes to help the clueless. Look at the Occupy movement...I'm forced to pay taxes to help those whose plight I delight in.--Dennis Miller

If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, and your life will be brief.--President Trump

Never have lives less lived been more chronicled.--Dennis Miller

I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.--Mad Dog Mattis

I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.--Thomas Sowell